


The Way You Look Now

by MissArsenicChaos



Category: South Park
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, College, K2 - Freeform, Kind of porn with plot, M/M, Mentions of other South Park characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-23
Updated: 2018-09-28
Packaged: 2018-10-09 14:40:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10414452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissArsenicChaos/pseuds/MissArsenicChaos
Summary: Kenny was upset when Kyle decided to attend boarding school, instead of going to high school in South Park with the rest of them. He completely cut off his friend from his life. Years after, they meet at a coffee shop. Will Kyle resent him for ignoring him all those years?





	1. Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's nothing I hate more than writing a summary, because I suck.  
> This was originally supposed to be a one-shot to celebrate Kenny's birthday, but I'm the kind of person who can't just have a short idea and write it down. No, I have to create this long ass story with unnecessary detail and plot.  
> A few things, US college/university system is completely different from my country’s so if I mess that up I’m sorry. I chose Yale because I was watching Gilmore Girls recently and that’s as far as my knowledge for that place goes. So imagine it’s a fictional Yale were things go and look the way I want them to. I usually research for my stories, but since this was supposed to be a one-shot, I didn’t. Look at how that turned out. Also, pretend someone like Kenny could get a full board scholarship on Yale, which sounded more realistic than him actually being able to pay for it.  
> Enjoy!

Kenny blinked rapidly in disbelief. The person standing in front him kept looking at what seemed like class notes. He had curly red hair that Kenny would recognize anywhere, even after so many years.

“Can I take your order?” Kenny asked. Would Kyle recognize him?

“Yeah, I need a big dark cup of coffee,” he ordered, pushing the money into the counter. His eyes were fixed on the spiraled notebook in his hand.

“Sure.” Kenny received the money and placed the order. He glanced over at Kyle, it seemed like some things never changed. Was Kyle attending Yale? It seemed like something Stan would mention.  “Hey, you seem busy and the place is almost empty. Why don’t you take your sweet ass to a chair and I’ll take your order over once it’s ready?”

Kyle’s face changed into confusion and disgust, finally looking up from his note. “Excuse m-,” he paused and furrowed his eyebrows. “Kenny?”

“Wasn’t sure you would recognize me,” Kenny replied. “Go ahead, take a sit.” He repeated with a smile.

“Thank you.” Kenny watched him walk to one of the tables near the window.

It was almost closing time and Sunday, so it wasn’t strange that the coffee shop was empty. He prepared Kyle’s coffee. Judging by his choice of drink, it seemed like he wasn’t planning on sleeping any time soon. He grabbed a blueberry muffin and walked over to Kyle’s table, placing it along with the cup in front of him.

“Here you go,” Kenny announced. Kyle had been glued to his notes, but smiled upon receiving his order.

“I didn’t order a muffin.”

“I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say you’re planning on studying all night,” Kenny said. He was surprised when Kyle nodded rather shyly. “You need to eat something, don’t want you getting sick before whatever it is you’re studying for.”

Kyle’s smile made Kenny’s stomach hurt. “Thank you Kenny, it’s really nice seeing you.”

“It’s nice seeing you too,” Kenny said. “Well, I’ll leave you to your notes then.”

Kenny was about to walk away when Kyle called his names. He turned around, Kyle was biting his bottom lip nervously. “Do you maybe want to have lunch tomorrow?”

“Sure,” Kenny agreed. “Still have the same number?” Kyle nodded enthusiastically. “I’ll text you then.”

Kyle left shortly after, waving at him with a smile.

 

* * *

 

When Kenny got to his room, the first thing he did was dial Stan’s number. He removed his shoes and sat on his bed while the phone rang.

 _“Hey man,”_ Stan answered.

“Kyle goes to Yale?” Kenny blurted out. Smooth.

 _“You ran into him?”_ Stan started laughing. _“I was wondering when that would happen.”_

“It’s not funny you jerk.” Kenny covered his face with his hand. “I thought he wouldn’t recognize me.”

_“Well it’s been a while, but you have each other on Facebook, don’t you?”_

“How do you even know that? You don’t have a Facebook.”

_“And I’m probably the only person who doesn’t. Anyways, how did it happen?”_

Kenny told him everything, from the study notes, to the gift muffin and lunch.

_“That’s as good of a reunion as any.”_

“Are you kidding? I hadn’t seen the guy since middle school.” Kenny threw himself in the bed. “It would have been nice to know sooner anyways.”

Stan laughed. _“Well you were always so weird about him after he left, knowing you, I thought you would start avoiding him or something.”_

It’s not like Stan was wrong, but it would still have been nice to know. When Kyle left for boarding school after middle school ended, Kenny was upset, to the the least. It had always been the four of them against the world and then Kyle decided that he was too good for South Park.

Of course now, Kenny knew he had been unfair to his friend. There was nothing wrong with pursuing a better education. At that time, Kenny hated him for leaving. He completely distanced himself from him. Even when Kyle would visit on vacation, Kenny would make up any excuse to not go see him. It was childish and one of Kenny’s biggest regrets.

After he got over his anger, he was too embarrassed. He never attempted to contact Kyle again and he didn’t try either.

“He’s taller,” Kenny commented.

_“Oh dude, don’t mention his height. He’s super insecure about it.”_

“What? Why?”

_“He ended up being the shortest in our class, he’s even shorter than Tweek.”_

Kenny laughed. “Jesus, why doesn’t that surprise me?”

 

* * *

 

It was almost lunch time and Kenny had just finished his morning classes. He sat on a bench outside the building to text Kyle. In all honesty, he was very nervous about it. What if Kyle asked why he had avoided him for so many years?

_im free let me know where you wanna have lunch_

Kenny started playing with his phone when he received a text back.

_I see you._

What? Kenny looked around until he spotted Kyle walking towards him with a huge smile. He waved as he got closer.

“Hey dude,” Kyle greeted. Kenny couldn’t get over how good he looked. He let his red curls short now, Kenny had always like Kyle’s hair. Yes, he wasn’t tall, but the way he carried himself made him seem elegant.

Kyle was standing right in front of him and that’s when Kenny noticed he hadn’t said anything. “Oh, hi.” Kyle joined him on the bench. “How did your test go?”

“It was horrible,” Kyle answered. “I rather not talk about it.”

Kenny smiled. He highly doubted Kyle had failed a test; that was simply not possible. “Fine, where do you want to have lunch?”

“Well the dining hall is boring as hell, so I had this place in mind.” Kyle had small smile on his face as he talked. Having him so close, allowed Kenny to notice Kyle now had freckles dusting his nose.

Once again, Kenny caught himself starring too hard when Kyle looked at him weirdly. “Oh, okay. Wherever you want.”

“I’ll drive.”

 

* * *

 

They arrived at a small restaurant near the campus Kenny had never been to before. The ride was silent, like they were both nervous to start a conversation. They sat in a small table and a waitress quickly brought them a menu.

“Everything iss great here,” Kyle commented. “It’s on me, by the way.”

“You don’t have to Ky,” Kenny protested.

“It’s a thank you, for yesterday’s muffin. I think I would have died without it.”

“That muffin is only like $2, lunch will be way more expensive.”

“You’ll get it next time then,” Kyle countered with a satisfied smile.

They ordered their lunch and sat in a comfortable silence for a while.

“So, Yale… Can’t say I’m surprised?” Kenny broke the silence.

“Yeah, it was my dream school,” Kyle told him. “I was super scared I wasn’t going to get in.”

“Like that’s possible,” Kenny teased with a smile. “You are the smartest guy I know.”

Kyle chuckled. “My mother wanted me to go to Harvard, she wants me to go to law school. She actually thinks I’m pre-law, but I’m secretly pre-med.”

“Mrs. Broflovski rather have a lawyer than a doctor?”

“She just wants me to take over my father’s firm,” Kyle responded. Kenny had forgotten Gerald Broflovski had opened his own law firm and was very successful. “I don’t know how she’s going to react when she finds out.”

“Well I’m sure being a doctor is just as honorable of a profession.” They both laughed.

“What about you? Honestly, I didn’t picture you ever going here. No offense.”

Kenny’s cheeks went pink. “It’s okay, believe me, I still don’t know what the hell I’m doing here.”

“So, tell me the story,” Kyle inquired.

Kenny took a sip from the soda the waitress had just brought him. “I guess it began freshman year. Jimmy started a newspaper club when he found out there wasn’t one in the school. He roped many of us into it. He was writer and chief editor, Token was in charge of setting up the layout and the printing and all that. Craig was the photographer since he was the only one with a camera. He was pretty good anyways. Stan, Cartman, Butter and Tweek were writers. Clyde did something I think, he was always there anyways. I started out doing the comic section. It was fun.”

“Stan did mention he was working on the newspaper, it was weird,” Kyle commented.

“Well our little group only lasted for 2 years. By junior year, it was only Jimmy, Craig, Tweek and me. We got other people from school, but it wasn’t the same. I started writing as well, turns out I was actually good at it. Senior year was when everything changed.”

Kenny took a break to take another sip from his soda. “What happened?” Kyle asked, he was biting his lip again. It was a habit Kenny remembered from their childhood.

“I don’t know if you know this, but Jimmy moved away from South Park. His father got a job in Texas,” Kenny answered.

“Oh yeah, I think Stan told me.”

“Well, we thought the paper was doomed without him. The team nominated me as the new chief and since no one else stepped in, it was me who got the position.”

“Wow,” Kyle commented.

“Right? I was so scared that I was going to fail Jimmy, so I started convincing people. It’s sort of easy to rope the seniors in, tell them it’ll look good in their college application. I got Wendy in with that and a few others. She helped me restructure the whole thing. Got Kevin Stoley to make the paper into an app, said it was greener. People were loving it. We even won a few awards.”

“Awards? Really?”

“Yeah, well once we made it an app, everyone from South Park was reading. So we started covering news from other towns as well. Craig won an award for a photograph of Stark’s Pond. The paper won a award for school newspapers in Colorado. By the end of senior year, we were a big deal.”

“You’d think Stan would have told me about this,” Kyle said. “I mean, he can tell me every detail about his goddamn football game, but he can’t tell me you won awards.”

Kenny laughed at that. “In Stan’s defense, his world basically consists of football, Wendy and you.”

“Oh please,” Kyle spat. They laughed for a while.

“Okay, so when application time came around. I was set on going to art school, if I was going at all. I actually considered just working to help out on the house. Wendy was the one who pushed me into applying for Yale and other schools. She said I had enough shit to even get a scholarship. I was doubtful as hell, there was no way I could make it. I mean, I’m fucking white trash.”

“Kenny,” Kyle rebuked. “Don’t say that.”

Kenny smiled. “Fine, I won’t. That’s it, ended up getting into a few schools, but Yale was the only one that offered a full ride.”

Their lunch arrived and they ate almost silently. Kenny was glad Kyle hadn’t mentioned anything about their fallout. They chatted a bit about their classes.

“I have a fairly busy week, but if you’re free, Friday… Want to grab some dinner?” Kyle looked nervous while he asked, chewing furiously on his bottom lip. Like he could say no to that face.

“I would love to,“ Kenny replied, prompting a smile on Kyle’s face.

 

* * *

 

On Thursday night, Kenny was reading a book, sitting on his bed, when his phone rang. It was Stan calling.

“What do you want?” Kenny answered.

_“Wow dude, what did I ever do to you?”_

Kenny sighted. “Sorry man, I’m just a bit on edge.”

_“Did your date with Kyle go that bad?”_

“What? No. And it wasn’t a date,” Kenny protested.

_“If you say so, but you have to admit. You do have a little crush on Kyle.”_

Kenny went red. “I don’t have a crush on Kyle, I hadn’t seen him in years.”

_“Sure dude, but remember how pissed off you were when he said he was leaving. Why do you think that was? He’s my best friend and even I wasn’t that upset.”_

“Fuck you Stan, it wasn’t that big of a deal.” Even as he said it, he knew it was a lie.

_“Come on Ken…”_

Kenny took a deep breath. “I’m having dinner with him on Friday,” he told him.

 _“I know, Kyle told me,”_ was his answer. _“You should try to put your moves on him. You do know how to flirt? Right?”_ The mockery in his voice didn’t go unnoticed. Kenny shrugged. _“I mean, flirting that isn’t just to get on his pants for the night. Cause if that’s your plan then I don’t approve.”_

“Why do I even talk to you?”

Stan laughed. _“I’m mostly serious. Are you saying you wouldn’t be interested in dating Kyle?”_

Well he wouldn’t oppose to it. Kyle was definitely his type, but there’s no way they could date. “Why would Kyle be interested in me anyways?”

 _“I knew you were interested.”_ Kenny could almost see the smile on Stan’s face.

 

* * *

 

Friday night came quick. Kyle texted him earlier saying that his roommate was out for the weekend, so his dorm was empty. They had decided to order pizza and watch a movie, since they both didn’t feel like going out.

Kenny was nervous, to put it mildly, ever since that conversation with Stan. It stressed him out even more that at any moment, Kyle could ask him about why he had ignored him for years.

He quickly dressed and left his own dorm. Kyle’s wasn’t too far away, so Kenny got there in minutes. He knocked and Kyle opened half-dressed and drying his hair with a towel.

“Hey Ken,” he greeted. “Come in.”

Kenny entered without saying a word. The sight of Kyle in only jeans was not something he was ready for. He was very toned, Kenny figured he would still be the bony boy he once knew.

“Sorry, I ended up staying after class to talk to my teacher and I had to shower.”

“You’re such nerd,” Kenny commented, remembering he hadn’t said anything yet.

“You can take a sit on the couch, I’ll put on a shirt and we can order pizza.”

“Oh, you can stay like that. I’m enjoying the view,” Kenny said, trying to be more like himself.

Kyle went red and rolled his eyes. “You haven’t changed one bit,” he countered and walked back to his room.

Kenny sat on the green couch. His dorm was about the same size, but Kyle only seemed to have one roommate, Kenny had two. There was a TV in front of the couch and a coffee table in between.

Kyle exited the room and joined Kenny on the couch, a phone was in his hand. “So, what are we ordering?”

“Whatever’s fine, you know I eat anything,” Kenny answered.

“Please don’t remind me of that,” Kyle said sticking his tongue out in disgust. He called and ordered saying he wanted ‘his usual’.

“Is there anything in particular you want to watch? I have Netflix.”

“Not really.”

“Well then, let’s browse.” He grabbed the small TV controller and turned it on, then proceeded to browse through the apps until he found Netflix. “Hey Ken.”

“Hm?”

“Are we ever going to talk about what happened when I left South Park?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll hopefully have the other two chapters finished by the end of the week, if nothing horrible happens.  
> Happy late birthday Kenny!!  
> Even dividing the chapter, I couldn't meet the deadline. Woohoo me...


	2. Green Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “No Kenny, I could never hate you. I gave you space at first and then, well… I thought you hated me for leaving.”
> 
> “Jesus Kyle…” Kenny was finally able to look at him again. “I couldn’t go, when Stan called and said you were in town. Every time I thought maybe I would go and see you, try to patch things up.”

Kenny remembered perfectly the day Kyle announced he was leaving South Park. It was also the last time he ever spoke to him.

They were hanging out at Cartman’s basement. He had recently turned it into a home theater, Kenny didn’t even know how Cartman got the money to do it. Stan, Kyle and Kenny were accommodated on a red couch, while Cartman sat comfortably on his recliner, which only he was allowed to use.

“I’m moving to Denver,” Kyle announced out of nowhere. They had been watching a movie and afterwards decided to just stay there and talk.

No one said anything for a while. Kyle, who was between Kenny and Stan, was balling his fist tightly against his lap, chewing on his bottom lip.

Kenny felt hot. Even though it was summer, Cartman had air-conditioning. There was no reason for him to be hot.

“When did you decide this?” Stan asked. Kenny looked at him, his face was very serious, but his eyes betrayed it. There were filled with emotion.

Kyle closed his eyes and chewed even more into his lip. “We’ve been planning it for a while now.”

“How long?” Stan was now pinching the bridge of his nose. Kenny didn’t even know how he was talking at all.

“December,” Kyle confessed.

“What? Your Jew dad got a better job there or something?” Cartman asked, he didn’t seem bothered at all. Kenny knew better. Cartman needed Kyle, he needed someone he could easily rile up.

“Umm… No, my parents and Ike are staying here,” Kyle explained. “I’m going to boarding school.”

“Boarding school?!” Cartman blurted out. “Why the fuck would you want to live in school?”

At least his friends were voicing his own concerns. Kenny didn’t know how to react, what to even say. He just felt hot and uncomfortable.

“I want to get into a good university guys and this school I’m going to, it’s one of the best in the country. We’ve already visited it and everything, they already accepted me.”

Once again they were all silent.

“Wait,” Stan said. “School starts in two weeks, when are you leaving?”

Kyle turned red. “This weekend,” he replied.

“WHAT?!” Cartman and Stan reacted at the same time. Kenny was still silent.

“School starts a week earlier there and I need to get my shit there.”

“And you waited until now to tell us?” Stan looked angry, who could blame him. It was Wednesday already, the weekend was just around the corner.

“I’m sorry,” Kyle apologized. “I’ve been wanting to tell you guys all summer, but I just…”

“You were being the fucking bitch you always are and betraying us like the good Jew boy you are,” Cartman intervened. “Fucking bullshit.”

Kyle would normally fight back after Cartman’s insults, but he looked so ashamed. Probably felt he deserved it.

“Dude, what were you thinking? We have to throw you a going away party and there’s no time. We should have spent more time together. I mean, there’s literally no time now. What do we do? We have to call people? Where do we do it?” Stan kept rambling on.

Kenny hadn’t notice he was grabbing onto his left arm with his right hand, digging his unkempt nails into his skin, until Kyle placed his hand on top of his arm.

“You haven’t said anything,” Kyle mentioned, looking it at him with those big green eyes.

He opened his mouth wanting to say something, anything. Instead, he stood up and left. Kenny walked as fast as he could out of Cartman’s house. When he was just hitting the sidewalk, he felt someone grab onto his parka from behind.

“You’re just going to leave like that?” It was Kyle. Kenny turned around and looked at his face. He looked like he was about to cry.

“I can’t do this,” Kenny managed to say.

“Kenny I’m really sorry for dropping it like that, out of nowhere, but it’s not like its goodbye forever.”

They were about the same height, Kenny being a few inches shorter. “It might as well be.”

“What?”

“You won’t be in school anymore, you won’t even be in town,” Kenny explained. “We won’t see each other every day.” Kenny felt his voice break at the end.

“I will be back every long weekend, thanksgiving, holidays… My mom wants me here every chance I get.”

Kenny felt guilty for being the reason Kyle had that face. He looked so miserable. But even with all the guilt, his anger in that moment took over. “It’s not the same Kyle. It will never be the same.”

And that was the last thing he said to Kyle. Kenny didn’t even look back to see how he had left him.

Stan called him and texted him, trying to get Kenny to attend Kyle’s going away party. He ignored them all and stayed on his bed, trying hard not to cry.

 

* * *

 

The way Kyle was looking at him in his dorm, reminded Kenny of that conversation. Those big green eyes, that looked even greener when framed with soft freckles and reddish eyebrows.

Stan was right. He might like Kyle as more than a friend.

“I’m sorry,” Kyle said, looking back at the screen. Netflix was already open, but he wasn’t skimming through it. He held the controller tightly.

“Kyle, I was a jerk back then,” Kenny confessed. “I shouldn’t have treated you that way, you didn’t deserve it. You don’t have to apologize, I’m the one who’s sorry.”

Kyle looked away. He was once again, chewing on his bottom lip. “I thought that you would eventually, you know, come over. Like when I was there on break or something.”

Kenny covered his face with his hands. “I-I wanted to, believe me, I wanted to. I was embarrassed, after the way I acted. I thought maybe you hated me and wouldn’t want to see me.”

“No Kenny, I could never hate you. I gave you space at first and then, well… I thought you hated me for leaving.”

“Jesus Kyle…” Kenny was finally able to look at him again. “I couldn’t go, when Stan called and said you were in town. Every time I thought maybe I would go and see you, try to patch things up.”

“You should have,” Kyle said softly. “I was always waiting for you.”

“Looking back at every shit decision I took back then, never getting in touch with you has always been my biggest regret,” Kenny confessed.

“We can change that now,” Kyle reassured, placing his hand on Kenny’s arm, a smile on his face.

Kenny was doomed. “Yeah, we can.” As he said it, he felt his heart beating faster.

“Okay then, what should we watch?”

 

* * *

 

It was surprising for Kenny how quickly they established a rhythm together after so many years. A month after meeting Kyle in the coffee shop had passed and he couldn’t even remember what it was like before.

They did everything together. They had all their meals together whenever both were available. Their study time was often spent together either at the library or at each other’s dorm. Kyle would hang at the coffee shop whenever Kenny had shifts to read and drink tea or coffee. Free time was spent watching Netflix or playing videogames.

 _“Dude, you’re basically dating already,”_ Stan told him through the phone. It was on speaker, while he quickly changed. He was supposed to meet Kyle soon.

“We’re not dating Stanley, we’re friends. We’re catching up,” Kenny explained.

 _“When was the last time you saw your other friends?”_ Stan asked.

“I see Dan and Victor all the time.”

_“Friends who aren’t your fucking roommates dude!”_

“I see Jesse almost every day,” he countered.

 _“YOU WORK WITH JESSE!!!”_ Stan seemed very exasperated. _“Ok then, when was the last time you went out with a girl, huh? Mr. I have a different girl every weekend.”_

Kenny stopped at that. “What?”

_“The last time you went out with a girl? I mean, I know you rarely go out with guys. But you seem to have a new girl all over you every weekend.”_

Why did he even tell Stan shit? “That doesn’t mean anything.”

 _“It kinda does.”_ He heard Stan trying not to laugh into his phone. _“Dude, I’m not trying to tease you or anything. I’m all for you two getting together. I’m just saying, maybe he should be informed of his current situation.”_

“For fuck’s sake Stan, do you want me to ruin everything?” He picked up the phone and now was talking to him without the speaker on, while he rested in bed.

 _“Why would you ruin everything?”_  

“You’re joking right? I fucked up our friendship once before.”

_“But you would be doing the exact opposite this time.”_

“Why do you even want us to be together so badly?”

_“For starters, you’re crazy about him...”_

“No I’m not,” he lied.

He couldn’t stop thinking about Kyle. The way he smiled, how he got angry at the smallest things, the way he lectured Kenny when he tried to procrastinate. Those freckles that made his eyes look brighter. He was so fucked.

_“...Kyle needs you.”_

“Excuse me?” Kenny hadn’t been paying attention to whatever reasons Stan was giving him, but that caught it immediately.

_“Kyle needs you man. That idiot only studies and then studies some more. He never goes out, he hasn’t made a single friend. He barely knows his dorm mate’s name.”_

Kenny was caught off guard. Kyle seemed so friendly and open, why wouldn’t he try and socialize. “That can’t be true, he took me to that restaurant that day. He seemed to have been there before. Kyle doesn’t seem like the kind of guy to go to a restaurant and eat alone.”

_“That’s the restaurant he went to with his parents when they visited campus, he told me.”_

“Oh,” Kenny managed to say. “Maybe he has a reason for you know, wanting to keep to himself.”

_“There is, actually…”_

“What? What happened?”

 _“I don’t think I should tell you this,”_ Stan pondered. _“I mean, it’s really something Kyle should tell you if he wants to.”_

“You can’t do that you fucker!!” Kenny exclaimed.

_“I’m sorry dude, it’s just pretty fucking personal. I would be breaching best bro confidentiality.”_

“Goddammit Marsh.” What was he supposed to do now? He couldn’t just ask Kyle about whatever Stan meant.

_“I’ll tell you this, which was common knowledge for anyone who wasn’t ignoring Kyle like you. He was dating someone, this guy from Denver. They were together for two years and broke up after high school ended.”_

Kenny’s jaw dropped. “What? Did that asshole do something to him?”

_“Really dude, if he chooses to tell you.”_

Stan Marsh was useless Kenny concluded.

 

* * *

 

Kenny went over to Kyle’s building and texted him, saying that he was outside. While he waited, because his luck was shit sometimes, a voice he never wanted to hear again called his name.

“Hadn’t seen you since first semester…”

It was Robert, a guy he dated when he first started college. They met on his first class. Robert was tall, even taller than him and very fit. He had an air of elegance that made Kenny feel like a piece of redneck trash.

They dated for a few months. He was nice, but Kenny started feeling that Robert was trying to turn him into something he wasn’t. Robert came from a wealthy powerful family, so small town Kenny was obviously too much of a hick for him. The guy started giving him expensive presents like clothes and cologne when they were only a few weeks in.

At first, Kenny enjoyed it. Robert never made him feel like he was way out of his league. They had fun, a lot of fun. He was always smiling and wrapping his arm around Kenny. Robert’s friends were a different deal, they didn’t like Kenny at all. For them, Kenny was just white trash.

Robert never felt ashamed of taking Kenny anywhere. They were good for a while, but then, things started getting serious. Kenny had never done serious before, so when Robert started suggesting that he should start wearing more of the new clothes he bought him or stop talking a certain way, he complied thinking it was normal.

“No Kenny!! He’s supposed to like you as you are, you don’t have to change in any way you don’t want to.” Wendy had screamed to him over the phone one day, after telling Stan that he was uncomfortable with all the changes.

Kenny had listened. He told Robert that he wasn’t comfortable with the clothes or the fancy cologne and that he definitely didn’t want to put extra effort in changing the way he spoke. And like that, their relationship was over. He never dated anyone, not boy or girl, like he dated Robert.

“Well, you look fancy,” Robert commented, seeing as Kenny wasn’t saying anything. He had that same smile Kenny used to love.

“What do you want Robert?” Kenny greeted.

“So harsh,” Robert replied. “I’m just saying hello here.”

“You’ve said hello, now you can keep walking,” Kenny grimaced.

“Come on Ken, no need to be rude. Why don’t we go have a drink, catch up?” His warm brown eyes roamed his body.

“No thanks.”

In that moment, Kyle came sprinting towards them. “Hey Kenny, sorry to keep you waiting.”

Kyle looked perfect with a green button up and dark jeans. “Its fine Ky,” he said with a smile.

“Oh, you’re going out on a date,” Robert interrupted.

Kenny felt his rage building up. “This my friend from back home, if you would excuse us.” Kyle looked confused at their interaction.

Robert didn’t leave. “Really?” The disbelief in his voice just fueled Kenny’s anger even more. “You don’t look like someone from the same place as Ken here, no offense.”

Kyle took offense. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“He means that you don’t look like someone he can Eliza Doolittle the shit out of,” Kenny responded.

Kyle raised an eyebrow, but before he managed to say anything else, Robert spoke. “I didn’t see you like that Ken, I just thought you would enjoy not having to dress in thrift store clothes.”

“Well you were wrong,” Kenny spat. “Come on Kyle, we have somewhere to be.”

Kenny grabbed Kyle by the wrist and pulled him away from Robert. They walked until they reached Kyle’s car.

“I’m sorry about that Ky,” Kenny apologized.

“Who was that?” A frown marred his face.

“An asshole I used to date,” Kenny answered, covering his face with his hand. Kyle was full of questions, but Kenny needed time to simmer down. “Hey, I promise I’ll tell you anything you want. Let’s just get some food, I’m starving.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took longer than I wanted it to, but got really sick out of nowhere. Honestly, this story just keeps writing itself. I mean, I plan something and then go and write something completely different. I'll say I have the last chapter already planned, but don't trust me. My hands have a mind of their own when I start writing.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who commented and left kudos, you fuel my writing.


	3. Jerks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’m guessing things didn’t end well,” Kenny commented.  
> “You could say that…”  
> “I’m all ears if you want to tell me about it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is this an update written my me? What? Did I just revive something that has been dead for more than a year?  
> Yes, I never gave up on any of my stories. I’m trying to get back into writing, I’ve been in an art kick for like a year now. Now that art is kinda my job, I need to start looking at other ways to destress. Writing is definitely one of those and I plan on finishing this and my other story. I promise. EVEN IF IT TAKES ME 10 YEARS!!  
> Anyways, this isn’t as long as my normal chapters. I wanted to get back into it slowly, not put too much pressure on myself. I also was in a completely different mindset when I started writing this. I remember I was watching Gilmore Girls, so that’s were most of the Yale stuff comes from.  
> I hope you enjoy! Little warning, my usual beta isn’t around and I’m rusty af, so sorry for any mistakes.

Kyle had insisted they ate at this new place near campus that served fries as main dishes. It was nicer than Kenny had expected for what was basically fast food. The waiter led them to a table in the back and gave them their menu.

Kenny would be lying if he said he wasn’t nervous. His encounter with Robert had left him in a bad mood, not only because he had been a jerk, but now he also had to tell Kyle about it. He hadn’t mentioned it yet though. Kyle was just looking through the menu, so Kenny decided to do the same.

The waiter came back and they ordered food and drinks. After he left, Kenny just blurted out the whole story. He wasn’t even planning to, but he did. There was something nice about telling Kyle about it. He just sat there and listened, occasionally frowning at certain parts.

“…and I hadn’t seen him again until now,” Kenny finished. “Apparently, he’s even more of a jerk now.”

Kyle nodded. “I kind of want to go back a punch him now.”

That made Kenny smile. “Nah, that’s water under the bridge as long as he never comes near me again.”

The waiter came with their drinks and Kenny noticed Kyle seemed a tad uncomfortable. He was looking around and scratching his arm nervously.

“Hey what’s up?” Kenny asked as soon as the waiter left. Green eyes turned to him in confusion. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, it’s just. That reminded me a little of my ex and he actually goes to Yale too,” Kyle explained. “I really wouldn’t want to run into him.”

Oh. This was the perfect segue to asking him about what Stan had said. That also kind of explained why Kyle was so reluctant to make friends and go out. He might think that that would make it more likely to run into his ex.

“I’m guessing things didn’t end well,” Kenny commented.

“You could say that…”

“I’m all ears if you want to tell me about it.”

There was doubt in his eyes as he chewed on his bottom lip. He was considering it.

“No pressure though,” Kenny added.

“There’s not that much to tell,” he said softly, taking a sip of his iced tea. “We met when I moved to Denver, became friends. Then we started fooling around, we shared a room so it was really easy.”

There was obvious discomfort in his voice. Kenny was about to tell him he didn’t have to continue, but Kyle kept going.

“Junior year we officially started dating, everyone in school knew. I told my parents almost immediately and they were happy for me. I was happy. He even went to South Park with me for Thanksgiving.” Kyle took another sip and stared at his hands. “He didn’t invite me to his place for the holidays. I was annoyed by it, but I figured being Jewish had something to do with it. Maybe he felt awkward inviting me to a Christmas party or whatever. His parents were a big deal.”

Kyle paused and looked at Kenny. He tried to give him a reassuring smile, telling him it was fine even if he wasn’t so sure.

“Anyways, things didn’t change much. I spent summer in South Park and he did at his home in Denver. We talked every day. Senior year was a repeat, once again we had Thanksgiving at my house and he didn’t invite me to his own place ever. I never met his parents and graduation day I found out why.”

Kenny immediately knew what was happening.

“His parents had no idea that there was something between us. To them I was just Jordan’s roommate and friend. I was devastated at first, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt. You know? Not everyone has awesome accepting parents like I do.”

Kenny nodded.

“Well, next day I learned that I should have just dumped him there in the spot,” Kyle paused, looking hurt.

He grabbed Kyle’s hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Don’t stress over it, it’s the past now.” There was a ghost of a smile, but it quickly faded when he continued his story.

“We met at our usual spot in the city. At this point, we both knew we were coming to Yale. We had planned on getting our own place and living together. I was in it seriously.” Kyle squeezed his hand back. “But that asshole told me that he never was really gay, that it was just a phase and he needed to start thinking about his future. That it had been fun, but he needed to find a girl to marry so he couldn’t fool around with me anymore.”

They had been sitting in a booth across from each other, but Kenny stood up and joined Kyle on his sit. Then he wrapped his arm around him tight. Kyle gasped, but he quickly melted into the hug.

He had loved that Jordan guy, Kenny could tell. He probably wasn’t over him after all this time. And fucking Stan Marsh wanted him to put his moves on Kyle.

“Hey, it’s fine,” Kenny whispered. “You’re way better off without that guy.”

Kyle didn’t say anything for a while. They just stayed like that until their food arrived. The waiter didn’t say anything about the situation, thankfully reading the mood. He just placed both plates in front of them and smiled softly at Kenny.

They broke the hug and Kyle slowly started picking at his food. He had ordered fries with chicken and mushrooms, while Kenny’s fries had bacon, cheddar and beef. They ate in silence, but Kenny would occasionally gently squeeze Kyle’s arm.

“I’m sorry I ruined dinner,” Kyle mumbled, while they were waiting for the check.

“Dude what? You didn’t ruin anything,” Kenny assured. “If anything, I’m thankful you trusted me enough to share that with me. Not gonna lie, I kinda heard something about it, but I didn’t want to pry.”

Kyle nodded. “I’m glad I told you, now we can bond over our shitty past relationships with pretentious dudes.” There was a smile on his face when he said, but his eyes looked sad. Kenny appreciated him trying to lighten the mood regardless.

 

\---

 

“Fuck you Marsh!” Kenny greeted Stan on the phone as soon as he picked up.

He was back at his room after dropping off Kyle. It was like a tradition to call Stan to gush about his time with Kyle, except this time it was different.

 _“What the hell did I do?!”_ The bastard had the audacity to sound offended.

“Kyle is still in love with that Jordan jerk and here you are trying to get me into getting into his pants!”

_“Wait what? Kyle told you?!”_

“Well I didn’t hear it from you, did I?” Kenny threw himself on the bed and kicked his shoes off. “You fucker, what were you thinking?”

_“I dunno what you mean bro, Kyle is over Jordan. That guy was a dick, end of story.”_

Kenny face palmed. “Are you kidding? Why do you think he’s such a loner and never wants to go out?”

_“Because he doesn’t want to run into him. That doesn’t mean he still has a thing for him. It’s normal to try to avoid your ex.”_

“Stan, you should have seen the look on his eyes when he told me the story,” Kenny told him. “Believe me when I say, Kyle is still in love with him. How can you not see that?”

There was silence for a while, like Stan was thinking it over.

_“We don’t really talk about it much anymore. I mean, he went over to my place soon after they broke up and told me everything. He was pretty shook back then, but that’s it. Kyle has never mentioned him again.”_

“Well you cock, he is, okay? Trust me.”

_“Fuck…”_

“Yeah fuck!! And here you were trying to convince me to ask him out.”

_“You should though.”_

“Not when he clearly is still hurting for that guy!” Kenny exclaimed. Did Stan not understand the situation?

_“That was a long time ago, Kyle needs to get over that. Dating you might help him out.”_

“Fuck no, Kyle needs a friend not a boyfriend right now. And I’m going to be his friend.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked that! Sorry for any weirdness, I’m usually a script writer so this isn’t my normal thing. I won’t leave a very long end note like usually do so bye!


End file.
